This Panther Lake-led 'semi-modular' laptop is taking a page from Framework's very upgradable book and I'm all for it

With Framework manning the helm for years now, it seems like more modular laptops are on the way, or at least semi-modular.

Announced at CES 2026 (via Wccftech), Schenker has shown off the first semi-modular laptop based on Intel's Panther Lake. Last year, Intel unveiled a reference semi-modular design in its blog, and this Schenker design is the first to roll out a finished product with it.

The Schenker Element 16, which is reportedly launching in Spring 2026, has an Intel Core Ultra Series 3, with support for up to 64 GB of memory. We don't yet know what the price point is or when orders will open up.

As displayed on the Bestware website, there's a small latch on the bottom of the laptop, which can be flicked to get access to the internals. From there, you can take off and replace the keyboard, swap out the storage and memory, replace the battery and fans, and you can even customise the ports on the sides of the device.

Wccftech says that future motherboard upgrades are planned, meaning you can swap the Series 3 chip out for something else, if available. The fact that this is based on an Intel design, however, does suggest you will only be upgrading to future Intel chips.

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Naturally, this would require Intel supporting those modular motherboards, so it's not always a guarantee. The screen doesn't appear to be easily replaceable, but the Element 16 has a 16:10 2560x1600 panel, which is pretty solid.

Early images do suggest it's a bit of a chunky device, closer in size to a gaming laptop than I originally expected. We are, however, unlikely to get a gaming laptop with this reference design for some time, if ever.

Framework, the biggest player in the modular laptop space right now, took its time to actually get modular gaming parts, and even now, it's pretty limited. The Framework 16 that launched in 2024 got a modular Radeon 770S GPU graphics expansion card, but we didn't receive another one until the RTX 5070 expansion in the latter half of 2025.

Modular graphics card upgrades are niche by nature, which means a certain user base needs to exist to guarantee interest from companies. As well as this, many laptop designers who work off reference designs would be better served selling entire laptops, rather than singular parts. An upgradeable machine could last you a very long time with a good upgrade plan, but a singular unupgradable laptop may only last you a few years.

Still, if Panther Lake lives up to expectations, it could serve as a solid base for a productivity laptop with some gaming, as Intel argues the Series 3 has "a bigger GPU in a class of its own." Intel's previous desktop offerings weren't great in the gaming department, but its laptop chips were certainly impressive. Here's hoping it comes with enough memory and storage that you won't need to immediately upgrade it.

Best gaming laptop 2026

1. Best overall:
Razer Blade 16 (2025)

2. Best budget:
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen 10

3. Best 14-inch:
Razer Blade 14 (2025)

4. Best mid-range:
MSI Vector 16 HX AI

5. Best high-performance:
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10

6. Best 18-inch:
Alienware 18 Area-51

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